. . . and I walked in on the folks at 10:00 p.m. Christmas Eve. They were very surprised and pleased and I was glad to find everyone up. In fact Ruth was still baking and the kitchen was full of cookies, cake, and pies. Vance, December 26, 1942
Today, let's talk about fudge. Fudge was my dad's contribution to the Christmas sweets buffet, and it was very important. I think I've said this before, but my dad could not leave a recipe alone. He would start changing before he'd even tried the original. It's hard to say how this fudge recipe might have started, but this seems to be the final draft. I found it in several recipe boxes, including my own.
VANCE'S FUDGE
3 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 T white Karo
2 T butter
2 squares bittersweet chocolate
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
Combine sugar, milk, cream, and chocolate in saucepan. Blend. Add butter. Place over low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture is boiling moderately. Cook to 235 on candy thermometer. Remove from heat. Do not stir. Cool slowly to lukewarm. Add vanilla. Beat by hand until creamy. Add nuts -- blend. Pour into well-oiled pan or knead and form in roll.
As you can see, this recipe is labor-intensive and demands a strong arm. You must stir over low heat or this mixture will scorch and ruin. And I can still see Daddy beating the cooled fudge with a wooden spoon. I'm not sure I could do it. When "Fantasy Fudge" appeared on the back of the Marshmallow Creme jar, my dad deemed it as good as his fudge, and from then on he made "Fantasy Fudge."
I learned in 1979 how important fudge was to the Christmas over-the-top goodie table. I had volunteered to bring the fudge -- "marble fudge," a simple microwave recipe. Well, Clint was 2 1/2 months and Milo just short of two years. The baby cried all day long, and I didn't get that simple fudge made. I decided it didn't matter, but when I arrived at the Christmas gathering without the fudge, Mother called to Daddy, "Vance, Kathy didn't make the fudge." Now, it was Christmas Eve and there was plenty to eat, but my dad dashed to the kitchen and made a batch of "Fantasy Fudge."
10 comments:
My favorite Christmas sweet has to be fudge. In the 1950's, I sent off to Kraft for cream cheese recipes and still have the leaflet, now ragged and stained. It has pie recipes and Cream Cheese Fudge. After I made that, I never made another fudge recipe. Delightful flavor. My mother asked me for the recipe every year for a "friend" that lost it. I secretly think it was my mother that lost the recipe.
I used to hate fudge but made it for gifts. Now I like it once a year and this year I'd like to make a batch with black walnuts! As I can't find them anymore in our stores a friend is mailing them to me. And Kathy I too make the Fantasy Fudge using the microwave directions.
Deb: Wow...black walnuts. I grew up in Missouri and black walnuts were the only nuts at my house. As you go further west, they are less available. Such a wonderful rich flavor. Try nutsonline.com or ohnuts.com to get black walnuts. I'm not recommending them, but just a tip that you can get them on the internet.
Kathy: What a sweet memory to have of you dad and his fudge duty each year.
Mom was a big fudge maker. She loved the fantasy fudge and made batch after batch each Christmas after that recipe came out. And yes, she is a chocoholic. I could eat a piece or two, but that was it for me.
And for certain I couldn't, now or ever, beat a pan of fudge with a spoon! I'm a total mixer girl, that's for sure.
(And oh, the burden of it all, to have not brought the fudge!)
Chris -- As you know, I belong to a group of ladies of your mother's vintage, and I swear, they can eat me under the table in sweets. It's not just the rich desserts but the candy and nuts.
That fantasy fudge is really pretty sweet.
Cream cheese fudge??? Hmmm...now that might be worth trying! I'm not a big fudger, but I like the marshmallow fudge that Mom referenced pretty well. I had a HUGE sweet tooth growing up, but I eventually linked the sweets to recurring migraines and have since very carefully controlled my intake.
Hallie: Here's the cream cheese fudge recipe from my old tattered leaflet. I always use black walnuts. It's goof proof and so easy to make!
CHOCOLATE "PHILLY" FUDGE
1 (3 oz.) pkg. Philadelphia cream cheese
2 c. sifted confectioners sugar
2 (1 oz.) sq. unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/4 tsp. vanilla
Dash of salt
1/2 c. chopped pecans; optional
Place the cream cheese in a bowl and cream it until soft and smooth. Slowly blend the sugar into it. Add the melted chocolate. Mix well. Add vanilla, salt, and chopped pecans and mix until well blended. Press into a well greased shallow pan. Place in refrigerator until firm, about 15 minutes. Cut into squares (for slightly softer fudge blend in 1 teaspoon of cream).
I'm so glad Hallie asked for Leah's recipe because I was wondering about it. We'll have to give it a try.
Thanks, Leah! I'm going to write that on a card and put it in my recipe box. It will be fun to try it. I really appreciate that you shared. :)
You're very welcome Hallie. And don't think that I typed it all on the blog. I just googled Phillie Fudge and found the exact recipe that I have. Here's a tip. Double the recipe and it covers the bottom of a 9 x 9 pan. If you don't double it, just fill half of the 9 x 9 pan bottom.
Post a Comment